Community Chat

[Desertdi]

My background is Accounting.    I have ALWAYS lived on a budget.

[AuntG]

Doesn't it all start with a budget? Live within your means. Keep six months salary in savings. Pay off charge card balances, and once that is done, pay them in full each month. I'd probably tell a younger person that a car payment is acceptable, but older people should have the assets to fully fund even the big purchases. Think of how much stress is relieved when you live debt free.

[Mom2Dogs]

DH and I have been fortunate, we have never carried debt except for our house, which has been paid off for years and a car on occasion.....we have always lived within/below our means and pay cash for all household upgrades, vacations, etc.

[ScenicMaine]

@AuntG

We're very close to the 6-mo. personal savings.  So everytime we reach a (for example) 5k level, I begin a new goal to go higher.  As we're aging we realize the health possibilities, etc. that can easily wipe that out - same w/ the 401k, so we need to keep going forward to keep contributing to both.

When I see a few friends not preparing for their futures better, I worry for them not taking into consideration the possibilities.  I use it as an incentive to continue the path we're on, higher goals.

[Tinkrbl44]

---

@ScenicMaine wrote:

@sissel

Thank you for your input.

I perhaps didn't explain right .. I mostly was curious what others considered a comfort zone for their lifestyle in their savings account.  Just something to be thought about.

---

@ScenicMaine

The subject you posted  is "knocking down debt" as opposed to how much to save.   Most "experts" consider savings to be liquid assets, also assuming you have investments, etc.   Is that savings account also considered your Emergency Fund  ....  or, in case of an emergency would you just put it on a credit card?   

Since the interest rates are inching up, that means credit card interest will also be going up.  Some charge as much as 24%, so no matter how much you save, the return is wiped out until those cards are paid off.

[Kalli]

We spent almost our entire married life in debt.  It wasn’t bad debt, like car loans or cc. It was debt that helped my husband’s 2 small businesses grow.

We never had a savings account.  After monthly expenditures were covered, any $ left went back into the businesses. 

Guess there are different paths to financial security.  This was the one that worked for us.  

[SunValley]

The only department store credit card I have is Macy’s. I take advantage of promotions for card holders and pay the bill in full immediately via their app.

I don’t carry a balance on my credit card either. It’s better for my peace of mind.

[lulu1]

The first 5 years of our marriage, we lived on my meager salaries (I taught school as well as waitressed) and credit cards.  We were married close to 10 years before we actually had a decent savings account.  Eventually we were able to pay off all loans and credit cards and bank my salary. 

Today is different.  Where our goal was to own our home without a mortgage, today it does not seem to be the case.  Couples seem to trade up to bigger a better everything without ever paying off anything.

Finances are personal.  What worked for us may never work for our son and his family.

[brandiwine]

We always put money in savings from our earnings on a monthly basis.  Every time we got raises that money was added to savings.  When we paid off our home we decided to continue to put our mortgage payment into savings.  What a great decision.  We now have a very nice nest egg for emergencies and have a "vacation fund".  We have always had a budget and lived within our means.  No debt for cars or credit cards.  You can retire at an early age (we were 55) and live well.  We sacrificed when we were young, but it's really paid off in retirement.

[ScenicMaine]

@brandiwine

Congrats to you for having the smarts & discipline to save the way you did.  Now, it's paid off for you & you get to reap the harvest & enjoy your retirement.

I hope you have many happy years ahead to enjoy your vacations.